Beloved opera star was passionate, kind

She was far from looking like the stereotypical Wagnerian soprano. Over the decades, from cartoons to real life, the image of the rather portly, hugely endowed soprano singing Richard Wagner's "The Ring Cycle" with breast plates and armor and spear became so popular that everyone has come to use the phrase whether for music or even a baseball game: "It ain't over till the fat lady sings."

Hildegard Behrens, who sadly passed away suddenly and unexpectedly last week at 72 after arriving in Tokyo to give master classes, was anything but the typical operatic "diva." She was slightly built and was a kind, generous and passionate personality who as a mother and grandmother was one of those few artists who was able to combine a fabulously successful international career with a rewarding and devoted family life.

She defied the image of the Wagnerian soprano, for despite her smaller stature, she possessed a fabulously lyrical yet powerful voice able to soar above a huge fortissimo in the orchestra.

She put an amazingly human touch on all her roles that made audiences react and feel with her.

In the final scene of "Die Walkure," perhaps the single most human and emotionally gut-wrenching moment in the entire "Ring Cycle" of Wagner, when a father must say goodbye to his favorite (but disobedient) daughter forever, she sang with such warmth and emotion that she became James Morris' favorite Brunhilde at the Metropolitan Opera. As Wotan, the King of the Gods, Jim was able to pick up and carry Hildegard over the rocky precipice on the stage to put her into her magical sleep on top of the mountain surrounded by a magic fire. It always brought tears to my eyes as well as to thousands of others.

Even though Hildegard was older than Jim, she was able to portray so sensitively and tenderly the loving and special daughter that Brunhilde was, and audiences would absolutely melt. You believed she was Brunhilde! And anyone who was a father in the audience had tears well up in their eyes.

I had the good fortune to work with Hildegard in Munich a few years ago when we were mounting a new production of Lehar's operetta masterpiece, "The Merry Widow," at the Gaertnerplatz. Hildegard wanted very much to try her hand in operetta and agreed to sign on and play the lead for the first time in her career. She was so much fun to work with and worked as hard as any of the young cast members to make it the special event it was. Long, six-hour rehearsal days were the norm, and she regularly joined other colleagues for meals in the Kantine between rehearsals.

All of Europe turned out to hear her in this unexpected role, and her charm won over the audience at every performance over the three years that she sang with us. She even threw in a couple of "Ho jo to hos" (Brunhilde's battle cry) in one dialogue scene, to the surprise and delight of everyone.

On a personal note, my opera-loving father was always a tremendous fan of Hildegard's Isolde, Brunhilde, Salome and other roles. He idolized her, and he and my mom always went to the Met to hear her. So a few days before our "Merry Widow" premiere in Munich, he called me and said to book him a room, as he was flying over from New York in two days to hear the premiere. He couldn't believe that his son was actually working with his idol.

So when he was 82, he finally met Hildegard Behrens at the after-performance reception and blushed a color of red that I have never seen before or since.

David Stahl is music director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.